Military Monday -- Alonzo Smedley Eckman

I’m not sure where – or even if – Alonzo fits in the family yet but I stumbled across him the other day on Ancestry.com. The site has the US Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1798-1958 available online.

His muster date was June 1898 after having enlisted on 26 May 1898. He was a Private stationed at League Island, PA.[1] A month prior to Alonzo enlisting, the US had declared war on Spain (on 25 April 1898 to be specific). The Battleship Maine had exploded while in the Havana harbor in February. The Spanish-American War ended on 10 December 1898 with the Treaty of Paris.

According to his Spanish War Compensation File, Alonzo S. Eckman was born 7 February 1877 to Alonzo and Anna Peters Eckman in Desota, Kansas. Kansas! The File shows he served from 25 May 1898 to 25 January 1902. He served overseas from November 1898 to 2 January 1902 in Puerto Rico. His discharge date was 27 May 1903 in Brooklyn, NY. His wife is Agnes Florence Evans Eckman. Their minor children were Ernest, William and Joseph. He was living at 1422 North Hobart Street, Philadelphia when he applied for compensation. At the time of enlistment however he was living at 5012 Willows Avenue, also in Philadelphia.[2]

The 1900 US Census confirms Alonzo, now age 23, was a Private stationed at the US Naval Station in Puerto Rico. The Census confirms his and his parents’ birthplaces.[3] The 1910 Census shows a 33 year old single Alonzo Eckman living in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with his mother and step-father. The step father’s name is Jacob McCorkle. Other information, birth year and place, parents’ birthplace all match and confirm information already discovered. The census does show it is Anna’s second marriage and that her and Jacob have been married for 28 years. It also shows she had two children, both still living at the time. Jacob is a flagman for the railroad. Alonzo is a carpenter. [4]

Alonzo’s World War I Draft Registration Car shows he was living on Penn Street in Harrisburg, PA. His birthday was 7 February 1877, making him 41 at the time. From the Registration Card we also learn that he is a carpenter employed by James Black, a Mason, of Marsh Run, PA. His wife is Agnes. He is of medium height, brown hair, brown eyes, and white.[5]

In 1880 three year old Alonzo show up on the 1880 US Census for Fulton Township, Lancaster County! Maybe … getting closer to the hubby’s family! Alonzo is listed as the nephew of Ambler J. and Elizabeth Penrose. The Penroses have four children of their own: Laura S., Sarah E., William A. and Charles and a 19 year old servant Annie Zell. Ambler was a farmer. Alonzo’s parents are listed as having been born in Pennsylvania! [6]

The 1920 Census shows a 42 year old Alonzo now married to Connecticut born Agnes and living on North Alden Street in Philadelphia. Their son Ernest was just a month old when the census was taken on 12 January 1920. Agnes was just 26 years old.[7] By 1930 the three were joined by William L., age 8, and Joseph P. age 6. The family was now living on North Hobart Street in Philadelphia. Alonzo still was employed as a carpenter.[8]

Alonzo passed in September of 1969, according to his Social Security Death Index. The SSDI confirms 7 February 1877 as his birth date. His last residence was in Saint Cloud, Florida. According to BillionGraves.com, he was laid to rest in Mount Peace Cemetery, St. Cloud, FL.

By the way, I connected! Through FamilyTreeMaker.com I found Alonzo named as a direct lineal descendent of Ulrich Eckman. It is through my husband’s paternal grandmother’s side that he is related to Alonzo. However, that is a whole different article!

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[1] U.S. Marine Corps Muster Rolls, 1893-1958; (National Archives Microfilm Publication T977, 460 rolls); Records of the U.S. Marine Corps, Record Group 127; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

[2] Spanish American War Veteran's Compensation File. Department of Military and Veteran's Affairs, Record Group 19. Pennsylvania State Archives, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

[3] United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.

[4] Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

[5] United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.

[6] Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

[7] Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

[8] United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.